I present to you chapter six! Cookies, cake and anything sweet, sour and spicy (?) to those of you who have favorited/followed this story. Thank you for your support. Enjoy this chapter!
Tani was kicked awake by a mysterious black boot. Glaring at the black boots owner(who may or may not have been Zoro...), she stumbled up and tripped out, landing in the sand on her hands and knees. She was still half in dreamland, but being on dry land helped rid her of some sleepiness. She stood up and looked around, noticing the cliffs and the slope.
"Ah! Feels good to be on dry land again" Zoro said while stretching. Tani walked over, stretching herself.
"Yeah!" Tani agreed.
"There's a village around her somewhere, right?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah. It looks like a small one though" Nami answered.
"OH OH! Then there's meat! There has to be a place to eat meat in this village!" Luffy ran over to Nami, drooling at the thought of meat.
"Just forget about meat for a moment, would cha?" Nami said, with a tick mark. That was when Tani noticed the rustling bushes. Her eyes narrowed. They were being watched. Zoro was in the middle of yawning when he noticed this fact too.
"Careful. We're being watched" Zoro pushed his sword slightly out with his thumb. He was looking around, looking for the person who was watching them. Tani was doing the same, her body taunt.
"Huh? By who? Where are they? They got meat?" Luffy was looking around as he said this.
"LOOK OUT!" Zoro yelled as, seemingly bullets flew at Luffy. Luffy dodged by jumping from one foot to another. Nami screamed and ran over to the boats. Simple pirate flags where raised then, from the bushes on top of the cliff. Tani leaned forward a bit, wishing she had some kind of weapon.
"OHHH! THAT'S SOOOO COOOL!" Luffy yelled, waving his arms up and down.
"Is this supposed to be when we're impressed?" Nami asked of no one.
"HAHAHAH! I am Usopp! Leader of the invincible pirate nation that rains over this island! You are standing before a legend! The most revered pirate who ever lived! I am the Great Captain Usopp! Surely you know that plotting an attack on this island would mean certain death! My army of 80 million super bean pirate shoulders would squash you like bugs!" Usopp yelled. He had jumped out of a bush, standing up on the cliff. His arms where crossed and he looked mighty proud.
"AWWWWEEESOOOMMMEEEEE!" Luffy yelled, looking thoroughly impressed. Zoro, Nami and Tani rolled their eyes at Luffy.
"You expect us to believe that?" Nami yelled at Usopp.
"Ah! SHE KNOWS!" Usopp started panicking.
"Yup. Well now I know" Nami said. Tani's respect for the navigator grew.
"How could I have been so dumb? I practically told her I was lying! I'm such on idiot! So stupid!" Usopp said wiggling around with his hands on his head. Tani and Nami sweat dropped at him.
"WHAT? He was lying?" Luffy said, sounded surprised. Luffy, the ever smart…
"Curse you, you tricky tactician! 80 million may have been an exaggeration, but I have a many man under my control!" Usopp yelled, flinging an arm out. The pirate flags started moving. To be more precise, 6 of the flags started moving.
"My guess is three" Nami said smugly. Tani smiled to herself.
"AHHHHH! SHE DOES KNOW!" Three kids yelled, jumping up from under the bushes. They bolted out of there.
"HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GUYS GOING!? COME BACK!" Usopp yelled at the three kids. Tani couldn't remember their names for the life of her.
"A pirate using a slingshot, huh?" Nami said as she picked up the small iron balls. "Well now I've seen it all."
"HAHAHAHA! That's pretty cool!" Luffy said, laughing.
"Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you" Usopp started rummaging in his bag. He pulled out a slingshot and an iron ball, papering to fire. "I'm a proud man and I won't stand for it!" Tani smiled to herself. Her favorite part. 'Mess with Usopp's mind' part. "This is your last warning or you'll get to see why they call me Proud Usopp and not Pushover Usopp! Is that clear?" Luffy put his hand on his hat, shadowing his eyes. "You've already seen for yourself how good I am with this thing! So you know I can rival anyone with a pistol!"
"Now that you've drawn your pistol, are you willing… to use it?" Luffy asked, lifting his hat just a bit, his face a mask of seriousness. Tani noted that he looked kinda scary like that. Usopp seemed to realize what kind of trouble he was in. "Guns aren't for threats, there for actions. Are you willing to risk your life?" Zoro smiled when he got what Luffy was doing. He looked at Usopp.
"I can assure you, we are real pirates. Consider your next move very carefully" Zoro said to him, using his thumb to push one of swords out a bit. Tani walked up beside Luffy and smiled a little too sweetly.
"Don't expect us to go easy on you" Tani said. She leaned forward and licked her lips. It wasn't hard to be intimidating for her. She's done it before. It scared people who had bullied her twin. It was her way of getting rid of bully's without fighting. Luffy looked really scary with his eyes shadowed and frowning. Zoro looked like a dangerous lunatic when he smiled like that. Usopp started to sweat nervously. He looked scared out of his mind. Usopp's flags started falling down. When Usopp released the slingshot, nothing flew at them. The iron ball fell to the ground just before Usopp fell to his knees.
"Pirates definitely have a lot more punch behind their words because they can back them up" Usopp said, with tears in his eyes. Probably from being terrified. "That's so cool!"
Luffy started smiling again. Tani dropped her intimidation act. Luffy, Zoro and Tani shared a look and then all three started laughing. That was the most fun Tani had had since a while ago.
"I stole that" Luffy called up to Usopp.
"Huh?"
"I stole those words from red-haired Shanks, a pirate I know" Luffy answered. Usopp got a shocked look, the tears in his eyes disappearing.
"You know red-haired shanks? Then you really are a pirate! Wait, you gotta be lying. Do you really know him?" Usopp sounded like he couldn't believe his ears.
"Yup! I know your dad too. His names Yasopp, right?" Luffy asked. Usopp got a blank shocked look.
"Huh? HAHA!" Usopp said before he leaned too far off the cliff and fell down.
-BAM-
"You're right. My old man's name is Yasopp. But how…? How in the world do you know him?" Usopp asked when he was sitting upright again.
Next thing Tani knew all four of them where sitting in a restaurant called Meshi and Luffy was explaining how he knew Yasopp. They were all eating, with Zoro and Tani drinking as well.
"Maybe you could help us. Do you know anyone who could provide us with a decent ship? Or anything that knows how to sail for that matter?" Nami asked, turning to Usopp.
"Well, it's a pretty small village" Usopp answered, sighing. "Sorry, but I just don't think we'll be able to help you." Usopp had this smile on his face that made Tani think he was lying. She downed the beer in her drink, smiling to herself.
"What about that huge mansion? The one atop that hill over there?" Zoro asked, looking out the window. Usopp made an 'ekk' sound.
"Hey! Do you know them, Usopp? Surely with all that money that can help us get a boat?" Nami asked, looking hopeful.
"You stay away from there!" Usopp said, causing the other 4 to stare at him. "Gah! I just remembered something that I really gotta do." Usopp stood up, with a hand to his chest and said "Everyone knows me at this place, so stay and eat as much as you want! Heh. Well, I gotta go!" Usopp grabbed his bag and ran for it.
"Why was he in such a hurry to get outta here?" Nami asked of no one, looking after Usopp. Luffy just picked up an apple and started eating. Tani got a drink refill and just continued eating. Zoro kept drinking.
Right then the doors opened and the three kids from before, holding wooden swords, yelled out "The Usopp pirates have arrived!" Nami and Luffy watched them from where they were seated.
"Who are these kids?" Nami asked. Tani couldn't see them from her seat, but she knew who they were without looking.
"Captain Usopp is gone!" One of them said.
"Did they…?" another asked.
The third one ran up to their table and asked "Fess up, you filthy pirates. What have you done to our beloved Captain? Tell us now!"
"Yes! Tell us now!" The other two said. Luffy had just finished drinking and put down his glass.
"Ah. That meat sure was good" Luffy said, patting his bulging stomach.
"What meat?" One kid asked. The three where huddled together now.
"These pirates are cannibals" another said. Nami started laughing a bit.
The kids where shaking now. "What've you done? You savages!" The third kid said.
"If you're looking for your captain" Zoro said, smiling ludicrously, widening his eyes, making himself look like a lunatic. He had his head resting on his hand, with his elbow on the table. Tani smile the same way, making her look like she was insane. She loved watching the reactions.
"We ate him!" Zoro and Tani said in unison.
"AHHHH! CANNIBALS!" The three kids yelled, holding onto one another. They looked at Nami when they said it.
"WHAT ARE YOU PUNKS LOOKING AT ME FOR?" Nami yelled with shark teeth. Tani could barely keep her laughter contained. She lost it when the three kids fell to the ground. Luffy, Zoro and Tani burst out laughing. Tani ended up banging the table, trying to calm down so she could breathe again.
"You just had to say something stupid, didn't you?" Nami yelled at the three people laughing their asses off.
"You were laughing, too Nami" Tani needed to point out. For her honesty she got an apple to the forehead. A tick mark appeared on Tani's head.
"STOP PELTING ME WITH APPLES!" Tani yelled at Nami, slamming a fist on the table.
-CRACK-
"…"
"…"
"…"
"… I didn't do that… did I?" Tani muttered, starting at the crack that appeared when she hit the table.
Later, after they had explained what really happened, the three kids, which were named Onion, Pepper and Carrot (really, who names their kids after vegetables?) were leading the four pirates to Kaya's house. Tani did a victory dance in her head when she remembered the girl's name.
"You really had us going there" Pepper said, with a laugh.
"WHOA! THIS PLACE IS HUGE!" Luffy admired the mansion they were standing in front of.
"And if our Captain ran off at this hour, this is the place he's gonna be" Onion said.
"What in the world does Usopp come here for?" Luffy asked.
"He comes to lie" Carrot said, his hands behind his head.
"To lie? That's terrible!" Nami said, leaned forward so she was almost the same level as the kids.
"He's not a bad guy he's great, isn't he?" Pepper asked the other two.
"Yeah, he's awesome!" Onion said.
"How is a liar awesome?" Zoro asked. Tani shook her head to herself.
"Well, Kaya, the girl who lives there, has been in a terrible depression that's kept her weak and in bed since her parents got sick and died a year ago. She's very rich, but all that money couldn't help her recover from her sadness." Pepper said.
"So our Captain tells special made stories to make her laugh and cheer up" Onion said.
"Captain Usopp's the best at telling lies" Carrot said.
"Wow. That really is pretty nice of him" Luffy commented.
"Yeah!" The three kids said at once.
"The best about him is his mischievous side. He's always up to something" Carrot said.
"I like him cause he's not afraid to be silly" Pepper said.
"And I like the captains crazy lies" Onion said.
"He sounds like an interesting man" Tani said to herself. She was stealing herself to run in with Captain Kuro. If she saw him, she'd want to hit him right then and there, but she'd have to restrain herself. The plot might change if she did hit Kuro. And she had to keep her promise to Elegia.
"So when he tells her those stories, he makes her feel better?" Nami asked, still leaning toward the kids.
"Yup. Lots better!" Pepper answered.
"GREAT! I think we should ask her for a ship after all!" Luffy yelled, raising an arm in the air. Tani shook her head a bit.
"We're not the ones who make her feel better, Usopp is" Zoro said to Luffy. Tani noticed that Zoro seemed to have caught onto Luffy's train-of-thought (or there-lack-of…) pretty quickly. He seemed to know what Luffy was thinking, or if he was thinking at all.
"Getting in is impossible. Those guards at the gate don't let anyone through" Said Onion, pointing out the almost impossibility of getting in.
"uhh? Where's Luffy?"
"I'll go ask her!" Luffy was on the wall, holding onto the bar railings at the top.
"AH!" They all yelled when they saw him. Even Tani, though she knew he was going to be there.
"NO! YOU'RE NOT GONNA…?" Zoro asked, sounding horrified.
"GUM GUM…" Luffy said as he stretched downward, his legs on the wall.
"AHHHHHHH!" The three kids screamed when they saw Luffy's arms stretch.
"His arms are all stretchy!" Onion said.
"He's some kind of monster!" Carrot said.
"Pardon the intrusion!" Luffy said.
"Aw, crap!" Tani said, before she and everyone else ran forward, grabbing Luffy, trying to keep him there.
"No. No. No. No. No!" Zoro said as he tried to keep Luffy from GUM GUM ROCKETING into the yard.
"ROCKET!" Luffy cried as he went flying. He sent everyone who was holding onto him flying as well. This was Tani's first time having the feeling of flying/falling. She never wanted to feel it again, it scared her so bad.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Tani as well as everyone else besides Luffy was screaming their lungs out.
"YEAH! WHOOO!" Luffy yelled as he fell. Tani made a mental note to hit the rubber bastard later as she kept screaming. Lucky for her, she landed in the tree by Kaya's window. When she felt her ass hit a strong branch, she stopped screaming and held on for dear life. They scared the crap out of Usopp. That was a plus. After the dust cloud the others made disappeared, Tani saw that they all were okay. Luffy and Zoro landed on the cement, leaving a whole in the ground. Nami landed on the grass and the three kids landed in a bush.
"That worked well" Luffy commented.
"YEAH! REAL WELL!" Nami said to him with shark teeth. Tani noticed Usopp 3 braches below her. Good thing she landed in the tree.
"My goodness! Are you okay?" Kaya called down to them, and then looked up at her. Tani nodded, smiling.
"Don't mind them, Kaya. This happens to me all the time! That's just the price of being a famous adventurer. Their just new recruits who heard about me and came to join the Usopp pirates" Usopp said.
"Anyone know where Tani fell?" She heard Zoro say as he stood up.
"Up here!" She called down from the tree.
"HOW'D YOU GET UP THERE?" Nami, Zoro and the three kids asked her, eyes bugging out. Luffy ignored them all.
"I landed in this tree!" Tani yelled down, as she started climbing down the tree. When she got to the lowest branch, she jumped down.
"I came here to see you. I wanted to ask you for a favour." Luffy said as he stood up, looking at Kaya.
"A favour? From me?" Kaya asked, sounding surprised.
"Uh-huh" Luffy said before continuing "I was wondering if there was any way for you to help us get a boa-"
"You there." A new voice said. Captain Kuro. Tani had just stopped by Luffy and now she wanted to run over to him and beat his ass. She grit her teeth, grabbing Zoro's wrist of make sure she stayed in place. Zoro looked at Tani with a shocked look. His face changed, though when he saw Tani's face. He changed the hold so that he was holding her there. Just from one look, he knew Tani was having trouble restraining herself from something. He didn't know what, but from the look on her face, he knew she didn't want to act.
"What do you think you're doing?" Kuro said as he walked toward them. With each step, Tani found it even harder to stop herself from running over there and hitting him. She felt reassured, though, that Zoro was keeping his hold. The only thing that kept her in place was Zoro's hand squeezing her wrist.
"Klahadore" Kaya said when she saw the man.
"Get out! I'll have you know this is criminal trespassing." Kuro continued to say. He fixed his glasses. Usopp made a slightly scared sound.
"Hey guys? Who's he?" Luffy asked curiously.
"Actually, Klahadore, these people are-"Kaya started to say.
"Not now, Kaya. You can tell me all about these riffraff after they've left" Kuro said as he walked forward some more. 'Call me riffraff again, I dare you' Tani fumed in her mind. She felt Zoro's hand tighten warningly on her wrist. "Now get out! All of you! Leave now unless you have some business with me" Kuro finished.
"Well alright. Do you think you can help us get a ship?" Luffy asked.
"Certainly not" Kuro answered. Luffy made a sound of disappointment and Zoro placed his free hand on Luffy's shoulder.
"USOPP!" Kuro then called. Tani could faintly hear Usopp say "crap" from behind the tree. "You've got quite the reputation. You're well known in the village."
"Heheh. Sure am!" Usopp said as he climbed back into view.
"I hear you've been on many an adventure. Quite impressive for someone as young as you" Kuro continued to say. Tani could hear the mocking undertone Kuro had. It just made her angrier, but she didn't move. Zoro would probably take her shoulder off with his strength if she moved an inch from where she was.
"People who admire me so much usually call me Captain! So it's Captain Usopp to you!" Usopp said. Tani believed he was trying to hide his fear by boasting. Or maybe he really was flattered.
"Captain huh? Hahah. Your father also had something of a reputation" Kuro said as he fixed his glasses.
"What?" Usopp sounded slightly offended.
"Klahadore, please just stop!" Kaya said to Kuro.
"You'll never be anything more than a son of a filthy pirate! Who knows what sort of trouble you're up to now. All I ask is that you and your kind leave this respectable lady alone." That would mean you too, 'Klahadore'. Tani wanted to say it so bad, but she kept her mouth shut. She might start swearing like a sailor if she opened it.
"A filthy pirate?" Now Usopp sounded really offended.
"You and she are from completely different worlds and you know it. Is it money you're after? How much do you want?" Kuro said to Usopp.
"Cease this at once, Klahadore! Apologise to him!" Kaya yelled, leaning out of the window. If she wasn't careful, she was going to fall.
"Hey, calm down, Kaya" Usopp said to her.
"I don't believe there is any reason to apologise to this savage young man, M'lady" Kuro said.
"My goal isn't to slander. I'm merrily stating the truth. I sympathize with your situation. You must hate your idiot of a father for abandoning his family and his village because of his mindless thirst for treasure!" Kuro said.
"Klahadore, stop!" Kaya sounded desperate.
"Don't you dare insult my father ever again!" Usopp said as he jumped down, using a claw shot (is that what it's called?) so he wouldn't hurt himself. The claw shot retreated back into his bag when he landed.
"Usopp!" Kaya yelled as she saw him jump. Usopp landed on the ground in front of the group.
"Why have you gotten so worked up, Usopp?" Kuro laughed. "It's times like these you should so what you do best and lie. Tell me about how your father is a traveling salesman. Or how you aren't really related by blood." Kuro continued. This caused Usopp to snap and he ran as Kuro, hitting him in the face.
"SHUT UP!" Usopp yelled as he hit Kuro. Kaya and the three kids all gasped.
"Captain!" The three kids said in unison.
"Case in point. He resorts to violence. I guess the apple never falls far from the tree, does it?" 'Guess that would make me a violent drunk…' Tani thought to herself, thinking of her father. Well, she did like booze and she was a bit violent…
"Shut up!" Usopp yelled again, making Kuro flinch back a bit. This satisfied her need to hit Kuro and she relaxed a fraction. "My father listened to his heart and choice a life of risk and adventure! I am proud to say that my old man is a proud warrior of the sea! Your right, I have been known to exaggerate from time to time but I will never lie about who my father is. I refuse to be ashamed of my heritage! I am the son of a pirate!" Usopp said. Tani smiled slightly at this. She personally loved Usopp's pride of his father and heritage.
"Captain…" Carrot said.
"Hahaha. Pirates are brave warriors of the sea, are they? Hahahah. That's quite a twisted way of putting things. You don't seem to understand that you are living proof of his savage blood. You run around spouting lies and use violence when you don't get your way. To top it off, you cozy up to the lady of the house to steal her fortune." Isn't that what you're doing? Went through Tani's mind.
"You're wrong! I only-"Usopp tried to say.
"Your father is a no good filthy pirate! Treachery is in your blood! Of course you would have such an evil scheme!" Kuro yelled at him. Usopp grabbed his collar, getting ready to hit him again. "You won't let up, will you?"
"Stop it, Usopp! Please!" Kaya yelled from her window. "No more violence. I can't take it! Klahadore's not a bad person! He's just trying to do what is best for me! Sometimes he goes too far!" Usopp relaxed his hand and Kuro slapped it away.
"Leave this place. You are never to come here again!" Kuro yelled at Usopp.
"Yeah. I get it. You don't have to tell me twice, buddy." Usopp still had his arm raised. He lowered it and put his hands in his pockets. "This is the last you'll ever see of me" He said as he walked away. Tani felt sympathy for him.
"Usopp…" Kaya said, sounding sad. The three kids ran forward.
"Hey, you butler jerk! Our Captain's not that kind of guy" Carrot yelled.
"You stupid jerk face!" Pepper yelled.
"Jerk face!" Onion yelled.
"JERK FAAACE!" Luffy yelled. Zoro punched Luffy's head and said "Shut up. You don't have a bone to pick with him." Kuro looked down at the three kids, causing them to shout in fear and hid behind Nami. Zoro had to let Tani go so he could restrain Luffy.
"What are you doing? Don't hide behind me!" Nami said to the kids.
"Let me at him! Let me at him!" Luffy chanted as he tried to go after Kuro.
"No Luffy, this isn't our fight!" Zoro said to Luffy.
"Let me go already!" Luffy yelled. "Come on already. Zoro I'm serious let me down already!"
"I'll let you go, but you will stop acting like an idiot, you hear me?" Zoro answered.
"You will all leave immediately!" Kuro said. Dragging Luffy along, Zoro, Nami and the three kids left. Tani stood where she was, glaring heatedly at Kuro. Kuro looked at her with his eyes narrowed.
"And what do you want, girl?" He asked her. Tani continued to glare, then she spoke up softly enough that Kuro will hear her, but Kaya wouldn't.
"Hear me, Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates. Your plan of three years will fail and you will be condemned to a life of piracy for your crimes" Tani said to him, still glaring. She had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes widen at what she said. Then they narrowed suspiciously at her. She smiled a little too sweetly at him and left. Tani: 1 Kuro: 0! She did a little victory dance in her head. Knowing what was going to happen wasn't such a bad thing after all.
I don't really like Kuro. His acting is so good that he really does seem like a butler. First time I saw this, I really thought he was a good guy. Ah well, remember to hit that review button! ;) It seems a bit lonely.